Vocabulary     

What does retain mean?

Definitions for retain
rɪˈteɪnre·tain

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word retain.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. retainverb

    hold back within

    "This soil retains water"; "I retain this drug for a long time"; "the dam retains the water"

  2. retain, continue, keep, keep onverb

    allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature

    "We cannot continue several servants any longer"; "She retains a lawyer"; "The family's fortune waned and they could not keep their household staff"; "Our grant has run out and we cannot keep you on"; "We kept the work going as long as we could"; "She retained her composure"; "this garment retains its shape even after many washings"

  3. retain, hold, keep back, hold backverb

    secure and keep for possible future use or application

    "The landlord retained the security deposit"; "I reserve the right to disagree"

  4. retainverb

    keep in one's mind

    "I cannot retain so much information"

Wiktionary

  1. retainverb

    To keep in possession or use.

  2. retainverb

    To keep in one's pay or service.

  3. retainverb

    To employ by paying a retainer.

  4. retainverb

    To hold secure.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To RETAINverb

    Etymology: retineo, Lat. retenir, Fr.

    Where is the patience now,
    That you so oft have boasted to retain. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.

    Though th’ offending part felt mortal pain,
    Th’ immortal part its knowledge did retain. John Denham.

    The vigor of this arm was never vain;
    And that my wonted prowess I retain,
    Witness these heaps of slaughter. Dryden.

    A tomb and fun’ral honours I decreed;
    The place your armour and your name retains. Dryden.

    Whatever ideas the mind can receive and contemplate without the help of the body, it is reasonable to conclude, it can retain without the help of the body too. John Locke.

    Let me retain
    The name and all the addition to a king;
    The sway, beloved sons, be yours. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

    As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. Rom. i. 22.

    Although they retain the word mandrake in the text, yet they retract it in the margin. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.

    Be obedient and retain
    Unalterably firm his love entire. John Milton.

    They, who have restored painting in Germany, not having seen any of those fair reliques of antiquity, have retained much of that barbarous method. Dryden.

    Receive him that is mine own bowels; whom I would have retained with me. Philem. xii. 13.

    Hollow rocks retain the sound of blust’ring winds. John Milton.

    A Benedictine convent has now retained the most learned father of their order to write in its defence. Addison.

  2. To Retainverb

    These betray upon the tongue no heat nor corrosiveness, but coldness mixed with a somewhat languid relish retaining to bitterness. Boyle.

    In animals many actions depend upon their living form, as well as that of mixtion, and though they wholly seem to retain to the body, depart upon disunion. Brown.

    No more can impure man retain and move
    In the pure region of that worthy love,
    Than earthly substance can unforc’d aspire,
    And leave his nature to converse with fire. John Donne.

Wikipedia

  1. RETAIN

    RETAIN is a mainframe based database system, accessed via IBM 3270 terminals (or more likely, emulators), used internally within IBM providing service support to IBM field personnel and customers. The acronym RETAIN stands for Remote Technical Assistance Information Network.

ChatGPT

  1. retain

    To retain is to keep possession of or continue to have something. It can also refer to the ability to hold or contain something, like liquids, heat, or information. Furthermore, it can mean to keep someone in a particular position or role.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Retainverb

    to continue to hold; to keep in possession; not to lose, part with, or dismiss; to retrain from departure, escape, or the like

  2. Retainverb

    to keep in pay; to employ by a preliminary fee paid; to hire; to engage; as, to retain a counselor

  3. Retainverb

    to restrain; to prevent

  4. Retainverb

    to belong; to pertain

  5. Retainverb

    to keep; to continue; to remain

Wikidata

  1. RETAIN

    RETAIN is a mainframe based database system, accessed via IBM 3270 terminals, used internally within IBM providing service support to IBM field personnel and customers. The acronym RETAIN stands for REmote Technical Assistance Information Network.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Retain

    rē-tān′, v.t. to keep in possession: to detain: to employ by a fee paid: to restrain: to keep up, as to retain a custom: to keep in mind.—adj. Retain′able, that may be retained.—ns. Retain′er, one who is retained or kept in service: a dependant, but higher than a servant: a sutler: a retaining fee; Retain′ership; Retain′ment.—Retaining fee, the advance fee paid to a lawyer to defend a cause; Retaining wall, a wall to prevent a bank from slipping down.—General retainer, a fee to secure a priority of claim on a counsel's services; Special retainer, a fee for a particular case. [Fr.,—L. retinēre—re-, back, tenēre, to hold.]

Editors Contribution

  1. retain

    To keep a specific type of form, structure or memory.

    The memory stick retained its memory and the data that was saved onto it.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 7, 2020  

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'retain' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3773

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'retain' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4493

  3. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'retain' in Verbs Frequency: #317

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Anagrams for retain »

  1. retina

  2. tin ear

  3. nerita

  4. tanier

  5. ratine

How to pronounce retain?

How to say retain in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of retain in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of retain in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of retain in a Sentence

  1. Linda Fried:

    We're definitely seeing growing concern about the drain of human capital among larger companies, and interest in new models for older workers that retain them longer.

  2. Tommy Douglas:

    Let me remind you what fascism is. It need not wear a brown shirt or a green shirt. It may even wear a dress shirt. Fascism begins the moment a ruling class, fearing the people may use their political democracy to gain economic democracy, begins to destroy political democracy in order to retain its power of exploitation and special privilege.

  3. Richard Barron:

    I know Fulton County's unique for us to do this, we've always been able to recruit polling locations and then retain them. But now, we're having to add so many and do Fulton County in a short amount of time that we had to add outside help to make sure this is done on time.

  4. Guicciardini:

    It is easy to lose important opportunities, and difficult to regain them; therefore when they present themselves it is the more necessary to make every effort to retain them.

  5. Erika Katz:

    Brown sugar is great because it's the perfect exfoliant and it's really gentle on your skin. The oil is going to moisturize your skin and the honey, which is an all-natural humectant, helps attract and retain skin moisture.

more sentences »

Popularity rank by frequency of use

retain#1#6857#10000

References

Translations for retain

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"retain." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/retain>.

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